REVIEW: ‘The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague,’ – “Cherry Blossom Meeting and a Coming Blizzard”

Fuyutsuki is off to her first day at her first job. On her way, she comes across a man named Himuro, who is literally frozen with fear. Turns out he is descended from an Ice Woman, and his emotions are reflected through physical manifestations of ice and cold weather. After helping the man out of his predicament, Fuyutsuki heads off to work. But she soon discovers that she will be working with Himuro. Instantly, a bond begins to form in The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 from Zero-G.

While the opening of this series establishes an interesting, if moderately bizarre premise, the concept of an office romance where one person’s emotions are being manifested for all to see seems like it could provide an interesting quirk to the plot. The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 is quick to establish familiar patterns to how Himuro’s emotions present themselves, but the overall story, as well as the characters that occupy it, are all but absent from this initial outing.

Rather than any sort of cohesive plot to move the characters through, such as going through orientation at their new job, this episode is simply a string of meetings between Fuyutsuki and Himuro, with a couple of other characters around as mostly window dressing. This gives the viewer no larger story to engage with as the show skips from one encounter to the next. This might be a passable structure to build the initial episode on so the series could get viewers accustomed to Himuro’s weather effects, except the show’s cast is also incredibly boring.

Not a single character in The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 has a memorable moment. Their reactions to the vast majority of the events of the episode range from nonexistent to mild interest. When they engage with each other in dialogue, they often converse in a monotone I thought was reserved for teachers trying to put their students to sleep. There is virtually no energy to the episode. Just a smear of cute as the main characters do nice things for each other, which, while appreciated by the recipient, create little impact or effect.

My biggest hope for the story going forward comes in the final seconds when the staff is informed that they will be going on a business trip. This elicits a fearful reaction from Himuro, hopefully heralding something of greater interest and plot coming in the episodes to follow. If so, this may just be chalked up as an awkward first step for the series.

The visuals throughout The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 deliver a basic but effective presentation. The simple setting and events of this episode don’t require much to pull off, and Zero-G delivers simply what is needed. The various weather effects that surround Himuro are fine, though there is the odd choice not to have his snow storms cause snow to land anywhere. There is wind, and snow is seen flying through the air, but it never actually lands on objects or characters.

When all is said and done, The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 doesn’t land well. While its larger premise feels like it could be interesting, the series will have to bring a lot more than what it shows here if it wants to give viewers a reason to stick around.

The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.